Does exposure to parental substance use disorders increase offspring risk for a substance use disorder? A longitudinal follow-up study into young adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

The main aim of this study was to examine the risk of exposure to parental substance use disorders (SUD; alcohol or drug abuse or dependence) on the risk for SUD in offspring with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) followed into young adult years.

METHODS

Subjects were derived from two longitudinal case-control studies of probands of both sexes, 6-17 years, with and without DSM-III-R ADHD and their parents. Probands were followed for ten years into young adulthood. Probands with a parental history of non-nicotine SUD were included in this analysis. Exposure to SUD was determined by active non-nicotine parental SUD while the parent was living with their child after birth. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the risk of non-nicotine SUD in offspring.

RESULTS

171 of the 404 probands reassessed at ten-year follow up had a family history of parental SUD. 102 probands were exposed to active parental SUD. The average age of our sample was 22.2 ± 3.5 years old. Exposure to maternal but not paternal SUD increased offspring risk for an alcohol use disorder in young adulthood independently of ADHD status (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.1, 6.9; p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Exposure to maternal SUD increases the risk for an alcohol use disorder in offspring ten years later in young adult years irrespective of ADHD status.